The novices of the Legion of Christ and their formators, from Monday to Friday, dedicate the entire morning to adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. It is a fundamental experience of God for a seminarian, which is also repeated throughout the night before the First Friday of the month, for example, or during the daily meditation hour, or at many other moments throughout their day. Now, this union with Christ is accompanied by another fundamental aspect in the life of a religious: intercession for the people whom God entrusts to him. And precisely for this reason, a space has been opened on the Salamanca Novitiate website where brothers can be asked to pray for specific intentions.

Father Alexis explains below this aspect of the life of the novices, which is unknown to many.

Father, how did the idea of asking for intentions online for your prayer time come about?

Whenever we pray, we have a golden opportunity to intercede for each other. Many people tell us: “You who are so close to God…”. And it’s true, with daily adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, we can afford to ask for each other’s intentions. Technology helps. That’s why we thought of offering our loved ones and everyone who wishes the possibility to send us their intentions for prayer, so we can print them and keep them in folders in the chapel. We also have a copy near our room to offer our studies and daily experiences for those intentions.

How does praying for others’ intentions shape the novices?

First, it unites them with Christ the mediator, who prays to His Father for His own. It also shapes their priestly heart, where everyone should enter and which should have no limits of time or place. It is also a great encouragement, because the novitiate is a period of silence, interior life, and amid that apparent “seclusion,” it helps a lot to give meaning to all that sacrifice. Each prayer allows us to be there beside that person in need. It makes us more apostolic than ever.

We have the concept that this kind of prayer is more typical of contemplative nuns than of an active life congregation…

A very intelligent and very “Eucharistic” saint, Saint Thomas Aquinas, defined apostolate as “giving others what we have contemplated in prayer” (Contemplata aliis tradere). In this sense, I believe that those who do apostolate must intercede and must adore. The Legionaries are contemplative and evangelizers. And attention: we are both. We do not conceive of apostolate without prayer, nor prayer without apostolate. That’s why we are very motivated to pray for those who need it most. Prayer is the soul, the support of all apostolate. And we know that it is there, on our knees before the Lord, where the most important battles of practical apostolate are won.

Why can we ask you to pray for certain intentions?

There is no limit. Every prayer intention is unique and worth gold. We receive all kinds, and that makes us feel like the Church. We don’t only pray for “difficult” intentions. We pray for daily life, for the Pope, for the Church, for families, for vocations, for the sick… etc. Don’t feel shy about sending us your intentions. Moreover: take advantage of this opportunity “without shame.”

And to a formator like you, how does having that list of prayers requested by people help you?

Personally, it has always helped me to physically have the intentions of people. Sometimes, I have spent half an hour of adoration just reviewing the list of intentions. And I realize that my prayer cannot be reduced to a mere speech to the Lord. These intentions help me to ask for graces, to thank for received benefits, to suffer with people, etc. Prayer and intentions take on a very, very concrete face.

What space do the apostolates of familyRC occupy in these prayers? Do they ask you to pray for any specific activity?

They have their space. Different teams from RC write to us to ask for intentions. Several priests and consecrated persons send us their intentions. I usually write to priests and some consecrated persons to help me gather intentions. Although I believe that few still share their prayers with us. We hope to continue receiving more intentions. It’s free and we all end up winning…0

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With information from Lo+RC